


The Desert Wolf

by AwesomeBees



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Gen, Magic, Magical Realism, My First AO3 Post, Original Character(s), Original work - Freeform, POV Multiple, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21992008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwesomeBees/pseuds/AwesomeBees
Summary: Tessa dives behind the desk, dropping her arms as she scrambles for something to use as a shield. “Tessa, stay down!” Alba shouts as she crouches, throwing her hands out and preparing to summon her flames. As a figure steps out of the light, Alba surges forward, her palms igniting.
Relationships: OFC/OFC, preslash - Relationship
Kudos: 1





	1. Ronan (part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is my first original work. I realize most people come to AO3 for fanfiction so if you are reading this THANK YOU!!! I hope you like it. I am not done with this story but don't know when I will work on it more. If anyone has any comments or ideas for this story please feel free to let me know. Thank you again for clicking on my story and I hope you like it.

A cold snap of wind blows through the dimly lit bar, brushing gently against Ronan’s flushed face as he turns to look at the being who had just entered. It was a large man bundled up tightly against the harsh weather. The vibrant red scales surrounding the man’s eyes mark him as Dragonborn. Ronan turns away, dismissing the man, and lets his attention drift around the room. Dark shadows cast by the firelight dance among the small groups huddling together, laughing and drinking as they take shelter from the horrible weather outside. Ronan sits propped up against the wall at one of the only free tables left. Ronan swings his head around as the door opens again, a large grin spreading across his face as he spots a familiar figure.

“Tamara!” he shouts across the room. “Hey, Tamara!”

Tamara turns at the sound. Her golden eyes glint in the firelight as she searches for Ronan in the crowd. Ronan waves his arm widely to grab the woman’s attention, swearing under his breath when the abrupt motion causes his drink to spill. When she spots his flailing, Tamara gives a sharp nod. Pulling her snow-covered cloak tightly around her shoulders, she pushes her way over to Ronan’s table. As she draws closer, her nose wrinkles at the sharp smell of alcohol. Her top lip pulls back, in a facsimile of a smile, to reveal sharp canines.

“Ronan,” She huffs, “what are you doing here? Last I heard you don’t come out this far North.”

As she speaks, Ronan moves to stand up, stumbling over himself as he tries to slide out of the booth, he had been sitting in. When he reaches the end of his seat, he hoists himself forward, tripping over his feet. Tamara’s hand shoots out to grip Ronan’s broad shoulder, preventing him from falling onto his face. Ronan shakes with laughter as he stares into the golden eyes that mark Tamara as a shifter. He brushes his pale blonde hair away from where it had come out of its braid and blocked his view.

“I’m on a quest,” Ronan says, straightening up. “For treasure.” Tamara’s eyes sharpen at his words. Looking around warily, she pushes him gently back into his seat and waves down one of the staff.

“Can I get two ales, please.” Nodding, the waiter moves towards the bar. Tamara removes her cloak and tosses it into the booth opposite Ronan. Taking her seat, she focuses on her companion. “You still working at that bookstore?”

“Yep!” Ronan cheers, sitting up straight at the mention of his sister’s shop. “Tessa’s shop. She built it herself, y’ know? From the ground up! Carved her magic rune thingies into the walls and stuff. Full security system and shields written right in the very foundation of the building! It’s alive now. She taught me everything I know, all by herself. No parents or nothing! Just, BOOM! Magic, spells, ward matrixes.” Ronan’s words rush out of him as he pretends to write runic symbols in the air. He gestures wildly, outlining imaginary wards.

“Right,” Tamara confirms, “your sister’s bookstore. What is she having you get this time?”

“Well, see, that’s the problem.” Ronan starts before the waiter interrupts. Putting the two drinks down, the waiter asks if he could get the two anything else as Ronan takes a large gulp of his ale. Brushing the figure away Tamara focuses on Ronan.

“Wait, what were we talking about?” Ronan asks once the waiter leaves.

“The job you are on. You were saying there’s a problem.” Tamara prompts, taking a sip of her drink. Letting the ale sit heavy on her tongue, she leans back to observe Ronan. Her companion sprawls before her, cradling his mug close to his chest. A bright flush rests high on his cheeks, creeping downward to highlight the dark tattoos peaking above his shirt collar in a healthy blush. Even in such a state, he is beautiful.

“Right!” Ronan agrees, leaning forward to slam his mug onto the table. His brows furrow at the loud noise before he shakes his head, dismissing it. Staring into Tamara’s bright eyes, Ronan lets his voice drop to a near whisper. “I’m supposed to be getting a Grimoire for the High Council. I thought it was up in the Northern Temples, but yesterday, I found inscriptions talking about a peace offering to the sun gods in the South. Which, I mean, fine what’s a couple of transportation circles? Except, a lot of the Southern Temples are uninhabited. Even if I can find the correct one, it’s not safe to excavate ancient temples alone.” Falling silent, Ronan lets his head drop down onto the table.

Tamara watches the man across from her for a moment before reaching out a faintly scarred hand. She gently pokes Ronan with the very tip of one of her claws to get his attention. “I’m not doing anything for the next few days.” Her soft voice rumbling in the stuffy air. “It’s been a while, but I grew up in the Southern territories. If you show me the inscription, I can probably tell you which temple you are looking for.”

“Price?” Ronan mumbles, letting his head roll to the side. One icy blue eye cracks open.

“Same as the last job we worked. An equal portion of anything we find. Though, I guess, in this case, the book’s all yours.” At her words, Ronan sits up and reaches out a hand. Tamara shakes it firmly, sealing the deal.

“We’ll leave in the morning. I can set up the transportation circle out back.” Ronan says, picking his drink back up. Chuckling, Tamara does the same, raising hers in a silent salute.

“So, how have you been?”


	2. Tessa (part 1)

The key softly turns in the lock as Tessa opens the door, juggling a brown paper bag and coffee in her hands. The wards glow a calm blue in Tessa’s mind as she passes through the threshold, letting the door swing closed behind her. She allows her softlydriftingnumbingcold magic to unfurl and fill the front of the building, greeting the store and guiding her energy to brush up against the security wards. As her magic takes hold, the runes carved into the dark rowan walls light up.

“Good morning,” she thinks, smiling gently. 

Weaving her way through the many bookshelves, Tessa heads to the back of the store where she can feel the firecracklingwarmhearth of Alba’s magic. Knocking softly on the office door, she waits for Alba’s permission before entering.

The fire mage is in the corner of the office. Alba’s curly red hair fans out around her in a copper halo where it rests. The soft witch light floating near the ceiling casts her already dark skin into deep shadows. She is stretched out on the worn-down couch; they had gotten for the times they had to stay late at work.

“Do I smell coffee?” Alba moans, peeking out from beneath the arm she had thrown over her eyes.

“Yes,” Tessa snorts before clearing her throat, “and I brought breakfast. It’s from that place you like around the corner.”

“The one run by the Brownie family?” Alba asks as she rolls over and makes her way towards Tessa. Her hands reach out for the coffee and food, dodging the piles of books scattered on the floor.  
“What were you working on?” Tessa questions.

“Ronan called after you left. He needed some translations done. That specialty book the Council requested is all locked up in a temple near the Southern Desert. He needed help translating what the inscriptions said.”

“Wait, why is he out by the Southern Desert?” Tessa asks as she follows Alba further into the office, sealing the door behind her. “I thought he was going to look for the Grimoire in the Selkie strongholds up North?”

As she moves deeper into the office, Tessa begins gathering up the books on the floor and stacking them on the desk that is situated opposite the couch.

“As far as I know, he hasn’t left for the desert yet; but apparently,” Alba begins, taking a deep sip of her coffee, “your dearest brother is on a quest and is not to be questioned.”

“But in the Southern Desert? He does know that there is a war going on, right?” Tessa is beginning to worry. As much as she trusts Ronan, she knows he can be impulsive and has a habit of getting himself into trouble.

Alba lowers her cup from where it once blocked her face, her expression becoming serious as she tries to catch Tessa’s clear blue eyes. Letting her long blonde hair fall forward to block her face from Alba’s gaze, Tessa pauses where she had been restlessly arranging the books. 

“Tessa,” Alba calls gently. “Tessa, look at me.”

After a moment, Alba stands up and moves over to the other woman. Her hand is warm as she gently grips Tessa’s arm. Turning her around, Alba places her fingertips under the blonde’s chin. Tessa lifts her head at the slight pressure and looks into Alba’s faintly glowing eyes. 

“Ronan will be fine.” Alba starts, before giving Tessa’s arm a shake. “He wouldn’t be working for us if he wasn’t the best. Besides,” Alba grins at Tessa, “anything stupid enough to mess with us gets what it deserves.”

“Yeah? And what is that?” Tessa whispers, leaning into Alba’s warmth. Alba rises on her toes, her grin becoming sharp, and rests her forehead against Tessa’s.  
“A swift and bloody end.”

Tessa’s breath catches slightly at Alba’s words. They are so close that Tessa can hardly make out Alba’s face, but she can feel the firecracklingwarmhearth blazing fiercely alongside her softlydriftingnumbingcold. The two auras twisting and twining together in a never-ending dance of colors.

They stay there a moment, wrapped up in each other’s arms. Finally, Alba gives Tessa’s a firm squeeze and begins to pull away.

“We have to open the store up.” 

Nodding in agreement, Tessa steps back until she meets the desk. She takes a deep breath to center herself and begins pulling her magic back in, passing it once more through the wards, testing their strength. Heading towards the door she pauses with her hand on the knob. Glancing over her shoulder, Tessa’s eyes meet Alba’s and she grins.

“Well? Are you coming or not?”


	3. Ronan (part 2)

Ronan bent his knees as he landed. The swirling lines of the transportation circle arched around him, causing the sand beneath his feet to rise and whip through the air. Tamara lands beside him just as Ronan turns to look around. 

“Alba was spot on with those translations. This place looks exactly like the Northern inscriptions described.” Ronan’s voice is muffled by the white cloth he had wrapped around his head. Despite this, his awe comes through clearly. Allowing his eyes to follow the path before him, Ronan finds himself staring up at the massive half-domed entrance to the temple. Golden sand dusts the large stone-carved staircase that Ronan stands on. Towering pillars spiraled into the clear sky above, each cut directly from the cliff face that looms over the valley they are in. The harsh light of the rising sun shines onto the surface of the temple revealing the ancient spells that were carved into the rock.

“Yeah.” Tamara breaths, stepping forward toward the temple, her eyes fixed unerringly before her. “Just like the inscriptions.”

Ronan follows as Tamara starts up the stairs. The very air seems to be holding its’ breath as they draw closer to the temple’s entrance. Ronan stares as they pass under the massive pillars, craning his neck to try and read the carvings. “These are all blessings. They must be at least three hundred years old.” Placing his hand on one of the pillars, Ronan’s mouth drops open as he gasps. “You can still feel the magic pulsing through them!” Running forward, he grabs onto Tamara’s arm to stop her. “Tamara, you have to see this. Look at these spells! I have to bring Tessa here; she will love this!”

Tamara pauses at Ronan’s touch. She looks away from the temple entrance for the first time since landing in the desert. Her expression hardens as she pulls her arm from Ronan’s grip. Letting her gaze move quickly about her surroundings she takes in the large pillars Ronan is gesturing too. Giving her head a brief shake, she firmly focuses back on her goal.

“We should keep moving, we’ll have time to look at all this on the way out.” Even as she speaks, Tamara begins jogging up the last few steps and strides into the shadowed entrance of the temple.

“We’re not in a rush,” Ronan huffs but follows. 

As he passes through the doorway into the temple, he feels a gentle hum of magic envelop him. Glancing around, Ronan spots the runic symbols for light etched onto the wall, just where the sunlight stops and the shadows begin. He raises his voice to reach Tamara where she had wandered deeper into the dark. “You up for a little light or do you want to play guide dog to those of us without night vision?” Ronan pauses for a moment and then shakes his head when she doesn’t respond. Reaching out to touch the nearest light rune, he calls out again. “You know, I forgot how much of a team player you are!”

Letting a small trickle of magic flow into the rune, Ronan watches as a silver light, pale as a moonbeam, begins to light up the carvings on the wall. The soft glow illuminates the temple. Ronan stands in a large hall; towering statues are lining the walls, reaching to the ceiling. Each statue is of a different being. As he looks closer, Ronan can see that each statue is one of the five elder races. To his right, a selkie stands proudly, their fur draped elegantly across their shoulders. Next to the selkie, a human stands guard before an opening in the wall. Opposite the human is the graceful figure of an elf. On Ronan’s left, next to the elf, stands the figure of a shifter. The statue’s fierce face frozen in an eternal snarl. The finale statue, that of a dragon, is wrapped around the far opening, between the human and elf. The dragon seems to glare at Ronan where he stands at the entrance. As he stares across the hall, Ronan can see Tamara pass from the room into the passageway beyond where his light can reach.

“Tamara!” Ronan shouts, racing across the large expanse between them. As he moves, the light follows him, glowing brighter in the runes closest to him. Shadows again swallow up the entrance hall as Ronan passes beneath the dragon’s claws. “Tamara, you need to slow down! We’re supposed to be doing this together!” 

The sound of Ronan’s boats against the stone floor echo as he runs down the narrow passageway. He can just make out Tamara’s figure far ahead of him. With a finale bust of speed, Ronan rushes towards Tamara’s still frame. Grabbing her arm as he comes upon her, Ronan whips the woman around.

“Tamara!” He snaps as she snarls at him. “What are you doing? I brought you here to help me, not go off on your own.” 

“You fell behind,” Tamara growls. At her words, Ronan quickly steps back, letting go of her arm. Taking a deep breath to calm herself Tamara speaks again in a much softer tone. “You keep getting distracted. We are here for a job. You’ll have all the time in the world to explore once we finish.” Stepping away from her companion, Tamara moves into the empty room the hall had opened into. With a sharp nod, Ronan reaches around to pull off his pack. Leaning it against the wall, he heads deeper into the new space. The pale glow of the runes provides enough light to make out a door set against the opposite wall. As seems to be the trend within the temple, the door is covered in runes

“This one looks locked,” Ronan says as he brushes his hand over the door. “Could you grab me my charcoal? It should be in my bag. Front pocket.” Ronan can hear the soft rustling behind him and reaches out a hand once the sound stops. When Tamara doesn’t hand him his tools, he turns to look at her. The shifter is crouching over his bag, holding something in her hand.

“What’s this?” Tamara asks, raising her hand so that Ronan could see the stone in it.

“That’s a miniature version of a transport spell. My sister carves them to me. They’re my emergency escape plan; they’re set to return me to my sister’s shop if anything happens to me.” Heading over to Tamara, Ronan bends down to grab his charcoal out of the open bag. “You’re good at wards and spells, right? Feel free to look at it, this door may take a while for me to crack.” Moving towards the door Ronan begins to write the swirling letters of runes.

“This is connected to your sister’s wards?” Tamara’s voice broke the silence that had fallen between the two.

“Yep,” Ronan responds, focus completely on his work, “it drops me practically in her lap.”

“Into the bookstore.”

Ronan makes a noise of agreement as Tamara moves to stand behind him. She watches as he works. His long elegant hands sketching dark lines across the red brownstone of the locked door.

“Almost done?” She asks, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“I just have to connect the matrixes and then we’ll be in. The grimoire should be right inside.” Ronan responds just as a bright flash of light fills the small room.


	4. Tessa (part 2)

“Everything looks good?” Alba asks as Tessa moves into the office, having just finished closing the store.

Tessa begins to nod before she straightens abruptly, her hands rising to hover in the air around her. Using her fingers to guide her magic, Tessa sends it spiraling through the wards to where she had felt the foreign energy. Opening her mouth to speak, Tessa can only gasp in pain as she feels the wards, the ones she had built from scratch, being ripped apart. Tessa collapses back onto the desk as alarms begin to blare out through the store.

“Tessa!” Alba shouts reaching out, too late to catch her.

“No!” Tessa screams, pushing herself up from where she has landed and thrown her arms out again. Frantically trying to reinforce them she warns, “The wards! Alba, something’s coming through!”  
Alba whips her head around to see what is going on. Blind to the magic hovering in the air, she is unable to sense what is happening.

“Where? Tessa, where!”

“I can’t…” Tessa gasps, her arms shaking with the effort of holding the wards. “Alba.”

The wards shriek as they rip completely open. Runes, previously hidden, light up a glaring red. The alarm silences as a blinding white light begin to tear through reality, outshining the glow of the witch light. Tessa dives behind the desk, dropping her arms as she scrambles for something to use as a shield.

“Tessa, stay down!” Alba shouts as she crouches, throwing her hands out to prepare to summon her flames. As a figure steps out of the light, Alba surges forward. The figure backpedals, tripping and falling to the ground. Tessa watches as Alba lands on the invader, one of her hands going around the figure’s throat while the other forms a fist. A jet of fire ignites from her hand as though she was holding a dagger made of flame. As she swings her arm down, the figure slams one of their fists into Alba’s side, knocking her away. The intruder rolls over, clutching their throat and coughing. Tessa watches as with a scream, Alba dives back towards the invader. Just as she is about to make contact, the figure regains their breath.

“Ronan needs help!” the intruder shouts. Alba’s flames sputter and die at the figure’s words just as she slams her fist into the invader’s face, causing the figure to crumble to the ground, unconscious.  
….

Tessa sits back onto her heels, brushing white chalk off her hands. Alba pauses her prowling to offer her a hand. As Tessa stands and gathers up her supplies, she looks around to survey her work. Everything in the once cluttered office had been pushed to the very edges of the room. Now, white runic circles crisscrossed the floor: one, a truth spell, the other, a binding curse.  
Tessa allows her gaze to move from her spell work to the very center of the circles where the figure sits bound to a wooden chair by monkshood-soaked iron chains. The cloak they were wearing when they arrived has been removed as well as all the weapons hidden on their person. Now that Tessa is no longer blinded by the bright light, she can make out the features of the interloper. The figure appears to be a female shifter with a long, flat nose and wide, golden eyes. Her hair is tied up tightly, the same soft gold as her eyes.

“Alright,” Tessa says, reaching down to touch where the circles interconnect. As she allows her magic to flow through the circles, they activate with a flash of blue light. “She is all secured.” 

Alba nods and steps around Tessa, moving to stand in front of the shifter. A fierce scowl etches into her face as she glares at the interloper.

“Now,” Alba begins. Her voice is sharper than Tessa has ever heard before. “Who are you, and how do you know Ronan?”

The shifter lifts her bleary eyes to meet Alba’s stare. The movement allows Tessa to make out the chain of newly formed bruises around the shifter’s neck and the swelling on the left side of her face.

“My name,” the shifter rasps, “is Tamara. Ronan hired me to help him break into the Maebad Almaerifa.”

“The what?” Tessa whispers, looking at Alba.  
“The Temple of Knowledge,” Alba responds before turning back to their prisoner. “If Ronan hired you, then why are you here and not with him?”

“Ronan got himself imprisoned the inner temple rooms. One second, everything was fine the next thing I knew, there was a bright flash of light and Ronan was trapped.” The truth spell glows brightly as Tamara speaks, indicating the sincerity of her words. “He had an emergency transport rune. He let me have it once we got into the temple. He said if anything happened to him it would activate and lead here.” 

At Tamara’s words, Alba looked over at Tessa, seeking confirmation that the shifter could use one of Ronan’s teleportation runes.

“The transport runes I make for Ronan always default here. He has to manually change the destination if he wants to go anywhere else. If she used one of his, it would explain why she needed to rip through my wards.” Tessa moves towards the door as she speaks, grabbing a few of Alba’s books as she crosses the room. “Ronan is keyed into the wards. She is not.” 

When she reaches the door, Tessa turns back to meet Alba’s gaze. Alba waves her on. Passing through the door, she makes sure to close it firmly behind herself. Just as the door is closing, she hears Tamara wonder aloud where she is going. Alba snaps an aggravated reply that is too muffled for Tessa to hear. Fortunately, she knows her friend well enough to know what she has said. Alba is always a dangerous combination of furious and worried when Ronan calls for help. It only happens on the rare occasion he can’t get himself out of whatever trouble he is in. This is precisely the reason Tessa keeps him supplied in transport runes.

Tessa makes her way to the front of the store where the register resides. Underneath there is a wide variety of useful items. Placing her books to rest on top of the counter next to the register, she reaches below to pull out a fully stocked travel pack and a wooden sign. She places the bag on the counter and walks around it to hang the sign on the front door. Leaning her head briefly on the cool glass, Tessa gives herself a moment to breathe. Tentatively, she brushes her magic against her wards. The holes that Tamara has torn into them feel like a dark aching void to Tessa’s senses. It’s going to take her days to fix them. Days in which the store will need to be closed. But all of this won’t even matter if Alba is unable to rescue Ronan. She knows this isn’t the worst mess he’s gotten himself into, but, if Ronan was to get seriously hurt working for her, Tessa doesn’t know what she would do. Ronan is the only family she has let; she can’t lose him.

At the agitated feel of Alba’s firecracklingwarmhearth heading towards her, Tessa stands up straight and begins to head back to the register. She rubs her forehead, trying to ease the headache that is beginning to build up behind her eyes.

“Did you get the information you needed?” She asks as Alba storms up to the register. The redhead fumes as she yanks the backpack across the counter and digs through it. Tessa flinches slightly as the angry snap of Alba’s magic stabs at her senses, making her head pulse in pain.

“We are going to need more than one pack,” Alba says.

“Why?” Tessa asks confused. Alba always goes alone on these rescue missions. Tessa normally stays back and prepares to offer any medical aid or to act as a fortress for the two of them to retreat behind.

“Tamara says that she needs all three of us to get through the wards protecting the Temple.” As Alba fumes, she moves around the desk to pull out two more packs from under the register. “The fact that she has enough power to rip through your wards is of no importance.”

“Ronan trusts her enough to let her use his transport rune. If she says she needs the two of us, then she probably does. Besides,” Tessa says as she gently lays a hand on one of Alba’s tense arms, Alba visibly relaxing at her touch, “the longer Ronan is there, the more danger he is in. We don’t know how much air is in those chambers. Even with his level of skill, he won’t be able to do anything if he has lost consciousness.” 

Nodding as she concedes, Alba swings two of the packs over her shoulder. Tessa grabs her pack and follows as they head back to the office. Pausing at the door, Alba speaks again.  
“Are you sure you will be okay with leaving the store with the wards like this?”

“There is enough of the foundation left for me to put the store in lockdown. It should keep the wards from deteriorating further while we are gone,” Tessa begins as she guides her magic away from where it has been edging around the tears deeper into her rune matrix.

Alba nods as Tessa speaks, trusting her to know what is best for the shop’s runic wards. Tessa smiles reassuringly at Alba before she reaches for the door. Moving around the other woman, she steps through the door to the sight of Tamara still locked in the circles.

“We can use the traces left on the transport rune to return to the exact location Tamara came from.” Tessa ignores their captive as she moves further into the room. Walking towards the desk, she shivers at the wild feel of Tamara’s magic; it raises the hairs on her arms as if she was being watched by an ancient predator. Speeding her steps slightly, Tessa grabs for the chalk she uses to draw her circles. 

“Are we leaving now?” Tamara asks, shaking her arms out to dissipate the tingling leftover from the binding curse. “I’m going to need my weapons.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Alba scoffs. Tossing the pack in her arms at the shifter, she leans down to the powerless truth and binding circles that are still visible on the floor. Calling forth a spark of fire, she ignites the chalk and watches as it burns away, leaving no trace of what had been there before.

Tessa nods in approval and, starting in the center of the room, draws a transportation matrix that spirals out to encompass all three women with Ronan’s stone that Tamara had used to get into the bookstore in the middle.

“Ready,” she states. “No one move.”

….

Tessa crouches as she lands on the hard, stone floor of the temple. Raising her eyes, she falls back with a scream. Directly in front of her is a golden coyote statue, its’ maw wide open, frozen in an eternal snarl, so real that it looks one second away from tearing out her throat.

“Tessa!” Alba shouts from where she has landed, her fists blazing in the stale air as she prepares to defend Tessa.

“I’m fine.” Tessa quickly reassures, dusting the sand from her hands. Standing up, she sends her magic spiraling outward in search of Ronan. She can feel the familiar cracklesparkelecticstorm of his magic, but it is muffled, as though it is blocked somehow. “It’s just a statue.” 

Turning to take in her surroundings, Tessa is met with a hall covered in ancient glyphs stretching off into the distance. The symbols glow like starlight, bright enough to see by. They glow brighter the closer they get to the room the woman stand-in. Above her head is a low hanging ceiling just tall enough for someone of Ronan’s height to walk upright. Tessa herself could touch the ceiling if she raised herself onto her toes.

“He’s through here.” Tamara’s voice echoes in the small room. Tessa whips around at the sound to see the shifter standing in front of a large door. There are runes carved into the stone surface of the entryway. From where she stands, Tessa can see dark marks marring the curving lines, glimmering white streaks interspersed throughout the writing. Moving closer to investigate, Tessa, sighs in relief as she recognizes Ronan’s handy work in the charcoal symbols.

“It looks like Ronan did most of the work for us,” she says as Tamara steps back to stand behind a tense Alba. Gesturing for the fire mage to come closer, Tessa continues. “Here, give me some more light. If I can see what he was doing, then it should be easy to correct whatever mistake he made and free him.”

Alba walks forward until she is almost pressed against Tessa. Raising her hand, Alba feeds more of her energy into her flames, causing them to brighten.

“Thank you,” Tessa says before leaning in close to the door. She hums and mumbles to herself as she works her way around the door. Occasionally, Tessa reaches out to draw a mark onto the door with her chalk. After some time, Alba’s flames begin to fade as her energy starts to run low. As Alba prepares to speak, Tessa interrupts.

“Okay, I’ve got it. Here we go.” Placing her hand in the middle of the door, Tessa lets her remaining energy trickle into the runes she has added to the matrix. The door lights up a startling blue. The white streaks that span the length of the door dissipate into the air before the door itself crumbles away into dust. Tessa and Alba begin to cough as they breathe in the debris. A tingling sensation begins to spread through Tessa’s body.

“Finally,” Tamara grumbles, pushing her way past the two women. “it never took Ronan this long to break in anywhere.”

“What?” Tessa gasps as she watches Tamara stride into the middle of the room. There, upon a central pedestal, rests a single book. Tessa stares as Tamara careful removes the book from its resting place.

“Thank you, ladies. I couldn’t have gotten this without your help.” She says, carefully placing the large leather-bound book into her bag.

“Where is Ronan?” Alba snarls, stumbling forward. Tessa drops to her knees as Alba advances on Tamara, both still coughing violently.

“You know,” Tamara starts, watching the two women struggle to breathe, “Ronan talks about you two a lot. His brilliant sister and her friend who runs a specialty bookstore. Get a few drinks in him and he’ll start bragging about all the powerful magic texts you have stashed away. Stuff people will pay a lot of money to get ahold of.” As she talks, her features elongate, her back hunching. “I guess it was just my luck that he was looking for someone to help him with a job. The perfect opportunity, really, and now, here we are. You really should have looked more closely at that those marking.” With a twisting shift of fur, a coyote sits where Tamara once stood.

With a bark, the coyote runs towards the doorway, leaping over the women. Using the last of her strength, Tessa turns her head to watch the coyote disappear down the hallway. As her vision fades, Tessa can just make out a rune carved into the statue that stands in the entryway. The rune for imprisoned glows faintly with power, trapping something inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So?!?!?!?! This is as far as I have gotten in the story. I'm sorry about the weird formatting, I'm still new to posting on AO3. Because of this being an original work I'll probably be rewriting and editing as I add more, which means that these chapters will change as I work on the story. Thank you again for reading my story and I hope you liked it.


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